Lavinia Fontana: Renaissance Painter

• Lavinia Fontana (1552–1614) was an Italian painter of the late Renaissance.
• Fontana was one of the first women in Western art history to gain professional recognition for her artistic work.
• She is celebrated for her portraiture and religious compositions.
• She was known for her technical skill and attention to detail.
• Fontana was born in Bologna, into an artistic family.
• Her father, Prospero Fontana, was a prominent painter who trained her in the Mannerist style.
• Fontana broke barriers by pursuing a career as an artist during a time when women were rarely allowed to engage in professional art.
• She became one of the first women to paint female nudes and large-scale altarpieces.
• Fontana maintained her career after marriage to Gian Paolo Zappi, who supported her by managing household responsibilities and assisting in her workshop.
• She is one of the first women in European history to achieve financial independence through her art.
• Fontana's work influenced later generations of women artists.

Minerva Dressing

• In addition to portraits and religious paintings, Fontana painted mythological scenes with nude figures, as evidenced in “Minerva Dressing”.
• Painting nude figures was an act of considerable daring for female artists who were forbidden from working with live nude models.
• Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, war, arts, trade, and strategy.
• In "Minerva Dressing", Minerva transitions from a warrior to a more feminine role by putting on a luxurious dress.
• She has put down her weapons and is about to get dressed.
• Fontana captures a single but significant moment that tells an entire story.
• Fontana captures the Mannerist tendency of elongated posture and an emphasis on movement.